Terraces are refuge areas, keep major portions free: Mayor
Times of India | 16 June 2024
Kolkata: Entire terraces could not be enclosed and converted into business establishments as they served as refuge areas in case a fire broke out, mayor Firhad Hakim said on Saturday.
“A major part of a terrace has to be kept unoccupied and free from any encroachment so that people living or working in the building can go there and wait for fire brigade to rescue them in case there is a fire, Hakim said four days after a fire broke out at a resto-pub located on the enclosed terrace of a two-storey commercial building near the Camac Street-Park Street intersection.
The mayor also said the KMC team would accommodate fire department officials to inspect various terraces that had been occupied and identify those that needed to be freed up of encroachments. “We will first identify the terraces that have been encroached and then ask owners to clear a section. If they fail to cooperate, we will lodge an FIR against them,” Hakim said.
Many buildings in and around Park Street have converted the terraces into cafes, resto pubs and lounges in the past five-six years. Several hotels have also covered the entire terrace to use them as utility areas, so have multiple hospitals and nursing homes. KMC buildings department officials pointed out that not only did a section of the terrace needed to be kept free to act as a refuge area, proper access to it without any hindrance was required so that people could flee to the terrace in case a blaze breaks out in the house. The KMC has already alerted buildings department officials at all boroughs to inspect the terraces of buildings in wards under their jurisdictions and report addresses, where the rooftop areas were completely closed. “Majority of the such encroachments are locate in four boroughs — VI (Theatre Road, Park Street, Camac Street, Esplanade, Chowringhee) VII (Park Circus, Tangra), VIII (Rashbehari Avenue, Ballygunge, Gariahat) and X (New Alipore, Golf Green, Prince Anwar Shah Road, Lake Gardens),” said an official.
During the blaze at Stephen Court in March 2010, many of the 47 people who died, had run up to the terrace to escape the flames ad smoke but could not access it as it was locked. Unable to escape from the leaping flames, some had leapt from the windows to their death.
Following the fire that broke out at Acropolis mall on Friday, Hakim also said that all mall authorities needed to ensure that staircases were encroachment-free to facilitate unhindered evacuation.